State and Elements of State | Public International Law - CLAT PG PDF Download

Essential Elements of a State

Population

• A state is fundamentally a community of people. Without a population, there can be no state. Populations can vary widely, with some states like Switzerland and Canada having small populations, while others like China and India have very large populations.
• Those living in the state are its citizens, who enjoy rights and freedoms and have duties towards the state. People from other states living in the territory are called aliens. Both citizens and aliens must obey the state’s laws and policies, as the state exercises supreme authority over them through its government.
• There is no strict limit on the size of the population necessary for a state, but it should be within a reasonable range. Factors like the size of the territory, available resources, standard of living, and needs for defense and production influence the ideal population size. For example,India has a large and rapidly growing population, necessitating measures to control growth to achieve sustainable development.

Territory

• Territory is the second essential element of a state. A state must have a definite, well-marked portion of land; it cannot exist in the air or at sea. States can be large, like Russia,Canada,the USA,India,China, and Brazil, or small, like Nepal,Bhutan,Sri Lanka,Maldives, and Switzerland.
• The entire territory of a state is under its sovereignty, which means the state has supreme power over all persons, organizations, and places within its borders. This includes not just land, but also rivers, lakes, canals, inland seas, coastal areas, continental shelves, mountains, and hills, as well as the airspace above the territory.
• States may also have territories that include islands, like the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Daman and Diu, which are part of India. The state exercises sovereignty over all parts of its territory, including ships and airplanes that are considered floating and flying parts of the state. A state can also lease out parts of its territory to another state, as India did with the Teen Bigha corridor to Bangladesh.

Government (Politically organized)

• The government is the organization through which the state makes and enforces laws. It is the third essential element of a state. While the state is sovereign and holds ultimate power, the government is the agent that exercises this power on the state’s behalf.
• The government has three main parts:
• Legislature: This makes laws and expresses the will of the state.
• Executive: This enforces and implements the laws.
• Judiciary: This applies laws to individual cases and resolves disputes.
• These three branches were once centralized in the hands of a king in ancient times. Over time, power became decentralized, and these functions were divided among the three branches.
• The Legislature makes the laws, the Executive enforces them, and the Judiciary interprets and applies them to specific cases. The independence of the judiciary is an important principle. The relationship between the legislature and executive varies by government type. In a Parliamentary system, like in India and Britain, the executive is accountable to the legislature. In a Presidential system, like in the USA, the legislature and executive are separate and independent.
• While the government is a key part of the state, it changes over time and can take different forms, such as Monarchy,Dictatorship, or Democracy. Today, most states have democratic governments that are representative, responsible, transparent, and accountable.

Sovereignty

• Sovereignty is the most exclusive element of a state. It means the state has the ultimate authority and power over its people and territory. Without sovereignty, a state cannot exist. Some entities may have population, territory, and government but lack sovereignty.
• Sovereignty has two dimensions:
• Internal Sovereignty: This is the state's power to regulate and control all activities within its territory. The state can enforce its laws and punish violators.
• External Sovereignty: This refers to the state's independence from outside control and its ability to engage in international relations. Each state has the right to make its own foreign policy and is equal to other states in the international community.
• Sovereignty is the hallmark of a state. For example, states like India,China,the USA,the UK, and others possess all four elements of statehood: population, territory, government, and sovereignty. However, entities like Andhra Pradesh or the Commonwealth of Nations do not have sovereignty and thus are not states.